Duo the Vampire Slayer
by Shinigami-chan
Summary: Hi! I'm posting this story as a responce for Elf's challenge in the story A Shade Darker Read it! .
1. Proloqe

Hi everyone

Hi everyone! I know, long time no post, but I've been working on other things lately. Anyway, I'm accepting the fanfic challenge from Elf's story A Shade Darker that was posted along time ago. I was rereading it and saw the challenge and said to my self, "Self, this is the perfect time for you to start a new story." I'd been toying with this idea for a while and on a whim, decided to do it. I'm putting the challenge here incase anyone reading decides to accept it to. Enjoy the story and if you haven't read A shade darker, then read it! It's very good.

Fanfic Challenge!

Since you like reading A Shade Darker, then you'll understand what I'm saying when I say I WANT A GUNDAM WING VAMPIRE STORY TO READ!! I mean, I'm writing this, having a blast, but not having any to read myself, except for Space Vixen X's Alternate Sins. (Which is an awesome story by the way, so go read it!)

So, I'm issuing a challenge to all of you Gundam Wing fan fiction writers out there reading this story. I want a Gundam Wing vampire story and here's the challenge requirements:

Duo cannot be a vampire, he has to be in the story, but he cannot be a vampire. You can change any of the other pilots to your heart's content, just not Duo.

The Gundams still exist, they're still pilots, so no "the Gundams don't exist" AUs.

No Duo yaoi. Not that I'm against it, it's just that when anyone writes a GW Vampire fic, Duo's always gay. Besides, what is the chance that all of the pilots (except Wufei) are gay? Slim and none. Two, yeah, three, pushing it, four, nope, unbelievable.

No Duo as the bad guy. (Yeah, I'm a big Duo fan, sue me.)

Basically, that's all the challenge. So get to a writing! Please! And if you need any help with vampire stuff, e-mail me at

Thanks,

Elf

Duo: The Vampire Slayer

By: Shinigami-chan

_'I need someone to break the silence _

_that's screaming in my head _

_and in my soul.' _

_"Why" by Stabbing Westward_

Prologue

A.C. 190

"Sister Helen! What happened? Are you ok?! Please talk to me!!" a young Duo yelled tearfully as he cradled the nun's head in his lap.

"Duo...I'm so glad...you're ok..." Sister Helen whispered hoarsely as she smiled up at the boy leaning over her, tears falling freely from his eyes.

"What happened?!"

"We...were attacked...by vampire...soldiers. They killed...Father Maxwell...and the others...made us all drink... You must put a piece of wood through...all of our...hearts. It's...the only way... to make sure...we don't come back as vampires...too." She managed to say between gasps for breath and he gasped in shock.

"Sister Helen?! What do you mean?!" he shouted. He had listened to the nun with growing horror and disbelief, refusing to even consider doing what she had said, putting a stake through their hearts.

"You know what...I mean...duo. You... have to...keep us from...rising again...as vampires. You... are...the...chosen...one..." she trailed off as her soul silently left her body.

"Sister Helen? Sister Helen!!" he screamed as he shook her in a futile attempt to wake her up.

"It's to late." A voice said from behind him. He turned around to see a tall, thin man wearing a black duster standing a few feet behind him.

"What?" Duo sniffled.

"If they made them drink vampire blood like she said, it's to late for them. We have to stake them." The man said calmly.

"No!"

"Yes." The man said as he crouched down next to Duo. "She was right, you

are the chosen one."

"The chosen one?"

"Yes. Every generation, one is chosen to stand against vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. And it just so happens to be you this generation. It is you destiny to seek out the monsters of the world and destroy them, just as they have destroyed these people." The man said as he gestured around at the still bodies lying around on the ground in the ruins of the church.

"I...I don't want..." Duo stopped for a moment to draw in a deep breath before continuing. "I don't wa...want to k...kill anybody...but..."

"You want those monsters to get away with this?" the man demanded coldly.

"No. I want them to pay, but...I don't want...to...kill any...anybody..." Duo said slowly as he looked down at the woman still in his arms.

"They deserve to die." The man said calmly and Duo's head snapped up in protest.

"But..."

"No. Now we must hurry. They will be rising soon, so we must stake all of them through the heart before they do." The man said as he pulled out a couple of stakes from his backpack.

"No..."

"Yes. Now get started. We only have a few minutes left before they rise. Because this is artificial sunlight, they'll be able to move during the day." The man said and tossed a stake to the boy.

"But..."

"Do it now or put that stake through your own heart. If you let them rise it will amount to the same thing. But if you don't do it now, then there are going to be over a dozen new vampires to kill on this colony. It's your choice; them or everyone else on this colony."

Duo was silent for a moment before he said in a tiny voice, "Ok. I'll do it." Taking a deep breath, he picked up the stake and after a moment's hesitation, plunged it into Sister Helen's, the only person he had ever thought of as his mother due to her kindness to him and the other orphans, caring heart. Pulling it away, he watched in silence as she exploded into dust.

"Wise decision. Now, lets finish up with the rest of them and then we will begin your training." The man said calmly as he plunged his stake into a little girl's chest, not even bothering to watch as she exploded before turning to a little boy about six.

"Who are you?" Duo asked in an empty voice as he stood up and headed for another of his friends.

"My name is Joe Black and I am your Watcher."

VVVVVVV

A.C. 194

"Good, Duo, but you almost let that one vampire get you." Joe Black said as Duo approached him, dusting his black clothes off from where the vampires had exploded on him.

"Stop complaining. It's not my fault that I had to use a pencil because my stake got kicked into the sewer." Duo snapped as he shook his braid in an attempt to get rid of the ash coating it, making the dust billow up around them for a moment before beginning to settle on the ground.

"Yes it is your fault, for two reasons, young man. Number one: you forgot your weapons. Your 'stake' was a picket from that fence. Number two: you also let your guard down trying to do homework when you were supposed to be patrolling." Joe said as he stood up from where he was leaning on a brick wall.

"What is your problem, Joe?! You're always on my back for something or other and I'm really getting tired of it." Duo exclaimed as he glared at the older man. This was not the same boy who had once lived at the Maxwell Church orphanage. That Duo had been a happy kid who had always been smiling at something or another and who couldn't hurt anyone or anything if his life depended on it.

This Duo was a hard eyed teenager who wouldn't take any shit from any body and who, quiet frequently, killed demons and monsters on a daily basis.

"My problem is that your carelessness is going to get you killed one of these days and I'm going to be held responsible." Joe snapped. "You never follow the orders the counsel sends and in fact, usually don't even listen to me half the time. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't your watcher!"

Joe regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Duo froze in the act of taking off his black leather duster he had been wearing to shake some dust off of it, and stared at him in shock. He could clearly see the pain, anger, shock and a vulnerability that he hadn't seen in those amethyst depths since he had first found him when he had been just ten years old, and already had to begin his duty as a slayer by staking the people he had viewed as his family. It was only a brief flash, and then all those emotions were hidden as his eyes became as hard as gundanium, that revealed nothing.

Shrugging back into the long coat, Duo said in a cold voice, "Fine, wish granted. You are no longer my watched. If you change your mind, don't bother coming after me." Turning, he stalking away from the man in the direction of the apartment that he shared with Joe, leaving the man starring after him.

'What have I done?' Joe thought to himself.

VVVVVVV

Duo stomped into the apartment and stormed into his room. "That Bastard! How could he do that, say that to me?!" he snarled to himself as he grabbed a bag out of his closet and threw it on the bed. He grabbed his meager positions and stuffed them in first before he added his store of money and fake ids before zipping it closed. Putting it to the side, he started grabbing his weapons.

A knife slipped into the top of each calf high boot and a third, this one with a string looped from the handle was hung around his neck to rest between his shoulder blades. Two stake launchers were slipped onto his wrists and loaded with deadly sharp stakes. When he moved his wrists in a certain way, they would extend, popping a stake into his hands at a moment's notice. More weapons disappeared into his clothes, a small mountain of artillery to fight the monsters of the world, including even a gun with silver bullets, lethal to many demons that roamed the earth at the small of his back in the waistband of his black jeans. He even had a set of lock picks in his braid, something that had come in handy a few times before.

The last weapon he hid was his scythe. It was a beautiful weapon that was perfectly suited for his small frame. The blade was dipped in silver and it had a wooden handle about three feet long that had a satiny finish that came only from the long time he had hand sanded and polished it during the last four years. He slipped it under his coat the blade over his shoulders and it seemed to melt into him, leaving no trace to the outside world that it was even there. No one was sure how he did it, but no one had managed to detect it when he was carrying it, a good thing as he carried almost everywhere, even to school a few times.

Within ten minutes of entering the apartment, Duo Maxwell, the Slayer, left as quickly as he had come, leaving nothing of his behind, not even a note to his watcher telling him here he had gone.

VVVVVVV

Duo snuck on board the sweeper ship just before it launched towards the hidden base in a nearby asteroid. He hid in the hold of the ship until they were nearing their destination before he showed himself to the others.

Deciding it was time to show himself, he slipped through the deserted halls of the ship to the bridge, his big boots making not one sound on the metal floor. Pausing at the door, he slipped the two daggers from his boots and readied himself before he slid open the door.

The two men in the pilot's and co-pilot's chairs started to turn in surprise at the unexpected opening of the door on a supposedly deserted ship, but before they could turn completely, Duo was there holding a dagger to each of their necks.

"Don't move." he said quietly.

"And who are you?" the man with the huge bowl shaped hairstyle as he looked at Duo out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't really see him because he was partially in shadow and the only thing he could make out under the brim of Duo's black baseball cap, where two bright violet eyes that were as hard as the gundanium they were transporting.

"Call me Shinigami."

"'God of Death'? Interesting name." The other man, this one with only a fringe of hair and wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, said as he concentrated on piloting the ship. "Is there something you wanted or are you doing this for fun?" he added.

"I hear that you guys are trying to start a war with the Alliance." Duo purred in Bowl haired guy's ear.

"Excuse me?"

"Operation Meteor ring any bells?" Duo chuckled at the looks of shock that crossed the two men's faces. "Don't worry about how I found out. I just want to be apart of it."

"What?!" both men exclaimed, completely shocked.

"You heard me."

"And what can you do?" big haired guy asked in his gravely voice.

"I'm a fair mechanic, can operate or pilot any thing and am good at computer hacking." Duo said as he withdrew his daggers and put them away, back in his boots.

"And why would we let you help us?" shade guy said as he finished docking with the asteroid.

"Because I could kill you with no problem or I could go tell all your enemies exactly what you guys are doing and where." Duo said with a crazy grin that was just two steps away from belonging on some insane guy's face.

"Good argument." Bowl hair said with a small grin. "So what else are you called besides Shinigami?"

"Duo Maxwell. Nice to meet you, and what are your names?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow at them as they finally turned around to fully look him over.

What they saw was a young man about 14 with amethyst eyes and chestnut hair that went to his but in a thick braid. He was wearing a long black leather duster that swirled around his calves over his black priest outfit with a black baseball cap pulled low over his forehead. The dangerous grin was still on his face but his eyes were as hard as stone, not revealing anything.

"Name's Howard." The bald one said as he pushed his sunglasses higher up on his nose. "He's Professor G, the one in charge."

"Cool, tell me everything." Duo said with another smirk.

AC 195

For the last year, Duo, Howard, and Professor G, along with a few other people, worked on building the Deathscythe Gundam. During that time, Duo gradually learned to hide his true face behind a laughing jokester mask.

Duo became on the outside a fun loving, never take anything serious teen that he had never got the chance to be since Sister Helen, Father Maxwell, and all his friends at the orphanage were killed by vampires only to be brought back as the same, just so that he could kill them himself.

He had everyone fooled.

"Duo! How many times do I have to tell you not to program the screen savers?!" Howard shouted as he pointed to his computer screen, which was showing a miniature, super-deformed Deathscythe in a chorus line, doing high kicks with Howard, Prof. G, and Duo, all also in SD. Everyone was wearing the big ruffled skirt, fishnet stockings and high heels, with a yellow feather in their hair or armor, except Duo who was in his normal outfit laughing his head off.

Duo looked at Howard's red face, then at the other crewmembers that were trying to hide their smiles, then said with a charming smile, "What makes you think it was me?"

"Only you are crazy enough to do something like this and besides, I can't get it to go away! I can't get back to the program I was working on!" Howard shouted angrily as Duo finally burst out laughing.

"Fix it now!!"

"Ok, ok, I'll fix it!"

VVVVVVV

Barely a month later, Duo stood beside Howard and Prof. G as they received the orders to begin Project Meteor. "Hah! As if I would follow these orders." G said as he shut off the screen displaying the orders.

Turning to Duo, he said, "I want you to take Deathscythe and follow your own judgment fighting the Alliance. Ok, Duo?"

"You want me to go to earth with Deathscythe?" Duo said in surprise.

"Yes. Do you have any questions?"

"When do I leave?" Duo asked with a manic grin.

"As soon as you get packed. I'll be heading down my self to set up a floating base for you." Howard said as he adjusted his bright shirt.

"Cool! I'll be ready in 10 minutes!" Duo shouted, rushing off in the direction of his room. As soon as he was alone, he let the smiling face disappear. A grim smile flitted across his face as he started packing his belongings.

All his clothes went into one bag while his collection of ancient rock music went in a second. He had found he liked the music after it was introduced to him by one of the technicians and he had amassed quiet a collection.

In the last bag he packed most of his weapons. He had stopped carrying most of them after he had almost killed one of the workers after he had surprised him in a dark corridor. He had also stopped wearing his duster except for his infrequent trips to various colonies for supplies or down time. Then he would wear it and hunt the various demons terrorizing that colony.

The only two weapons, besides his boot knives, that he didn't pack were his two scythes. The first one was the one he had brought with him when he had left Joe. It was encased in leather with steel reinforcing the blade part. While the first one had a wooden blade and a regular steel blade, the second one was different.

The second scythe was one he had made in his spare time during the past year. It was made of Gundanium. While they had been melting and casting the armor for the mobile suit he had taken a small amount of the metal and cast it into the blade and the handle of the scythe. For over a month each, he had smoothed and polished the pieces until they were as smooth as silk. After wielding them together, he put the finishing touches on his new razor edged instrument of death. He carved bat wings on the blade close to where it joined the handle and underneath he carved Shinigami in English while on the back he repeated the design with the Japanese kanji for Shinigami underneath it. He also carved protection runes on the blade and handle. He had to do the carving with a hand held laser rather than normal means because it was so hard to do because of the gundanium. As the last thing he did to finish his work on the scythe, he had coated the blade in a layer of silver, to make it even more lethal to the demons that are weak against the said metal. Now, he lovingly caressed it before he slipped it into it's own sheath.

"Well, then, I guess it's time to get going to earth and while I'm there, I guess I'll finally be able to get back to my war against the forces of darkness. If those monsters that killed everyone at the Maxwell Church are there, then I will kill every demon on earth until I get every last one of them." He vowed quietly to himself as he scooped up all three of his bags and his scythes and headed out the door.

He pasted on a crazy grin as he reached the hanger where Deathscythe was about to be encased in the reentry capsule.

"Duo, we need you to pilot the Gundam to get it into the capsule, so hurry up and get your stuff loaded." Professor G said when he spotted Duo hurrying towards them. Then he got a closer look at the two leather and steel wrapped scythes. "What on earth are those?" he asked, gaining Howard's attention.

"What?" he asked as he turned away from the worker he was talking to.

"These?" Duo said with an arched eyebrow as he held up the leather cases.

"Yes those. What are they?" G snapped irritably.

"My scythes, of course."

" 'Of course'? Where did you get them?" G snapped, holding out a hand for them. When Duo held them away, he reached for them impatiently.

Suddenly he found a knife pressed against his throat, courtesy of a hard eyed, cold-faced Duo.

"Nobody touches my scythes except me and the demons I kill. Understand?" Duo snarled and the two men started at him in shock. He had moved so fast, dropping his bags and the smaller scythe, and pulling the knife from his boot to hold against the older man's neck, all the while retaining his hold on the larger wrapped scythe.

"What?!" Both men finally exclaimed. "What do you mean?" Howard asked as Duo put the knife away and opened the sheath at lightening speed.

"What I mean is that no one touches it but me and Shinigami's victims. That is all you need to know." Duo said coldly. Slipping the leather off, he held up the silvery scythe for the men to see.

They gapped at the magnificent weapon for a minute before turning stunned eyes towards Duo. "Where...?" Howard started to say but trailed off as he stared at the boy he had thought he knew, but this hard eyed teenager was not the familiar joking boy he had known for the last year.

"Just who are you Duo?" he asked finally.

Duo looked briefly startled, but then the cold, mask settled back over his face. "Let's just say that I fight what most don't even believe in."

"The slayer..." Howard whispered, wide eyed, gaining surprised looks from the others

"What do you know about the slayer and where did you hear about it?" Duo demanded, holding the scythe ready to lop off Howard's head at a moment's notice.

"Let's just say that me and my family had a bad run in with a bunch of leeches about 40 years ago. I survived, no one else did, vamp or otherwise."

"Sorry. Leaches get a lot of us." Duo said as he withdrew the blade and a grabbed the sheath off the ground.

"You too?"

"Yeah, Father Maxwell and everyone living at the orphanage that I was staying at. Then I had to stake them." Duo said darkly as he swiped the rest of his things off the ground and stalked towards his Gundam.

"That poor boy." Howard muttered as he watched him go.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Professor G demanded, completely lost.

"I'll tell you another time, let's just get this ball rolling." Howard said as they watched Deathscythe power up and walked over to the reentry capsule.

VVVVVVV

'Well, I'm on my way.' Duo thought as the capsule headed towards earth. Entering the atmosphere, he piloted it towards the area he had been told to avoid, Japan. The biggest area populated by the most demons besides Sunnydale and LA in California, USA.

For the next year, Duo Maxwell, the Vampire Slayer, lead a triple life; Gundam pilot, high school student, and demon hunter, all the while sharing safe houses with the other four pilots. They never knew.

And neither did he...

TBC...

A/N

This is a reposting as I hated the format had put it in when I originally poster, along with dividers and changing it from Pof. H to G. I can't believe I made that mistake! I decided to fix this and start working on the next chapter since people are still reading this and I have to admit, I loved this story from the get go. Hopefully, I'll remember what I originally wrote. I lost the notebook that it was in years ago.

Oh well, we'll see!

Ja ne, Shinigami-chan


	2. Chapter 1

Duo: The Vampire Slayer

Duo: The Vampire Slayer

By: Shinigami-chan

'_I tried so hard and got so far_

_but in the end it doesn't even matter_

_I had to fall and lose it all_

_But in the end it doesn't even matter.'_

"_In the End" by Linkin Park_

Chapter 1

A.C. 196

4 Months after the end of the war

Shinigami stalked the night. The thought alone was enough to make even the hardiest vampire or demon quake with fear. None had lived to tell about who he was, but rumor abounded why Shinigami was stalking them.

Some said that Shinigami was a giant of a man, maybe even part demon. Others thought Shinigami was a girl with long hair that could reach out and grab its victims, choking them to death as easily as you would crush a spider. It was even rumored that Shinigami was an ancient God there to destroy them.

But all of the rumors were wrong. The most fearsome demon hunter was a sixteen-year-old boy who, at the moment, was laying fresh flowers on a new grave.

Duo read the tombstone once again as he restlessly shifted from foot to foot. "Hi, Babe, I'm here again. But this is the last time for a while." He said, lying a gentle hand on the tablet.

"I'm going after the guy who ordered those guys to do this to you, Hilde. I promise, I'll get him and everyone else who works for him. I'm not going to let what happened to you happen to anyone else."

Flashback

It was a month after the end of the war. Duo had just left the other Gundam pilots and had moved in with an ecstatic Hilde, opening a scrap yard together. They had only lived together for a week, but already they had settled into a sort of domestic tranquility.

Hilde was in the kitchen cooking a hearty vegetable stew, when the call came. "Hello." She said cheerfully as she answered the phone on the third ring.

"_Hello, is this a Miss Hilde?"_ a smooth male voice asked over the line.

"Yes, this is she."

"_Great, I'm calling because there has been an accident at the scrap yard you own with a Duo Maxwell."_

"What? What happened?! Is anybody hurt?!" she asked in a rush.

"_Yes, Mr. Maxwell has been hurt. We need you to come down to the yard as soon as possible."_ The man said calmly to the panicky Hilde.

"Oh my God! I'll be right there!" she exclaimed and slammed the phone down. She shut off the stove on her way to grab her keys, shoes, and her coat. The weather controls there on L2 were acting up again and it was quiet cold now that it was dark out.

Jumping into her car, she hurriedly drove the short distance to the yard. Normally, she would have walked, but now she was in too much of a hurry to even consider it. Parking in her usual spot behind the building, she hurriedly shut off the car and jumped out. Seeing that the light to the yard was on, she pushed open the gate and rushed in, only to find three guys in jeans and t-shirts standing near the gate and no one else around at all.

"Who are you?! Where's Duo?!" she shouted as the men grabbed her.

"Duo is out at a meeting with a couple of other guys." One of the men, this one wearing a red shirt, smirked at her. "And as to who we are, we're your doom!" At the last word, all three men changed. There faces became heavily ridged and the canines lengthened into fangs in their mouths.

"What? NO! Somebody hel…urk!" Hilde's cry for help was cut off as the three sank their fangs into her. Two drank from her throat as the last one drank greedily from her wrist.

'_Help! Somebody help me, please! Duo…'_ she silently screamed as she got weaker and weaker. Finally, as the last of her blood left her body, a single crystal like tear slipped down her cheek as she saw Duo burst into the yard, holding a scythe with both hands

"No, Hilde!" he screamed as he rushed towards the quartet. With two quick slashes, he had beheaded the three vampires, getting two in the first swing. He caught her gently as they turned to dust, catching her before she could hit the ground.

But by then, it was already too late. Hilde was gone.

End Flashback

Duo looked at the tombstone one last time before he turned and walked away. It had broken his heart when she had died. He had sold their scrap yard, but he had kept their house. It was theirs, bought and paid for in full. He figured that he could use it whenever he was on L2 again. It would be his home base, a safe place he could go to rest and relax when he was injured or he wasn't on patrol.

But right now, the house was locked up tight and he was leaving. He had a tiny bag of clothes and a big bag of weapons strapped to his motorcycle, which was waiting for him on the road for him.

As he swung on, he flicked his duster out of the way so that he wasn't sitting on it. He hated when it pulled on his shoulders whenever he shifted his weight. As he rode away, he cast one last look at the grave in his mirror. "Bye Hilde." He whispered, then turned his full attention forward again. Gunning the engine, he roared down the road towards the shuttle that would take him to earth.

He had no trouble getting on the shuttle with the weapons. He simply bribed the man who took his bags off the bike for him to smuggle them on board for him.

He settled into his seat and looked out the window. He had been one of the last people to board the plane, so now it was already launching. The trip would only take about an hour, so Duo took a small risk and took a brief nap.

He was awakened as the speaker crackled to life and the pilot asked that all seat backs and tray tables were in their full upright and locked positions. Not ten minutes after that, the shuttle had landed and the passengers disembarked into the bright sunlight.

Duo shoved his way out of line and down to the cargo hold where he picked up his bags and his motorcycle. Tipping the guy generously enough to make him forget all about him, he wheeled the bike out onto the tarmac and settled onto the seat. Slipping his scythe into a back holster, still encased by the leather sheath, he slipped on a pair of sunglasses to keep the wind out of his eyes and kick-started the bike. Letting it idle for just a moment, he made sure his bags were balanced and then roared out of the shuttle port.

Anyone looking at him would see a small figure dressed in black with a large flapping coat and a meter long braid flying out behind him, riding a huge black motorcycle. They would also see the strange implement on his back, but would decide that their minds were playing tricks on them. After all, who would be carrying a scythe on their back anyway?

But Duo didn't care what people thought. The only thing he cared about was killing every single vampire or demon that crossed his path and he knew just where to go.

Los Angelus.

VVVVVVVV

Los Angelus

Angel was in his office at Angel Investigations when he heard the sound of a motorcycle pulling up in front of the hotel that served as both home and office to whoever worked with him that needed a place to stay. He had gained it over 400 years before when he had chased some demons out. It was even the same style, too.

Now, he was heading towards the lobby to see who it was, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the slim, graceful figure holding a scythe in both hands, striding towards him. Shades obscured the eyes of the person, but Angel was sure who it was.

"Duo, it's nice to see you again." He said with a friendly grin.

"Angel." he said flatly with a nod. He took off his glasses and shook his head slightly so that his bangs fell into their usual place over his eyes.

"What happened?" Angel asked after a moment.

"They got my girlfriend about a month ago."

"What?! That nice short haired girl, the one you introduced me to six months ago?"

"Yeah, Hilde. Three attacked her, but someone else ordered it. I want that person." Duo growled and Angel nodded in understanding.

"Vamps?"

"Yeah, leaches."

"Did you go after the local nests?"

"Yeah, their Master ordered it but he's on earth somewhere. I also learned that he controls almost all the vampires on earth and the colonies and most of the demons in the colonies and a couple groups here in America and in Japan. He's a vamp, but he is from the 1400's, even older than you." Duo said grimly as he put his scythe down and shucked his duster, hanging it up on the coat rack near the door. Turning back to Angel, he asked, "Can I count on your help, old buddy?"

"Yea, of course. And I'll even get my friends to help as well." Angel said promptly and turned to the vid-phone, one of the few things in the entire building that had changed over the years.

"Hey, Tony. Would you call the others and come over to the office? We have a case, sort of." Angel said and the older face of the man on the screen frowned in confusion as he said, _"Sort of? What do you mean?"_

"I'll explain everything when you get here. Just hurry."

"_Ok, we'll be there in twenty minutes."_ Tony said and hung up.

Turning back to Duo, Angel said, "Tony is my second in command. He's the descendant of Fred and Gun, two of my original group of friends that helped me set up this place."

"What was that about a sort of case?" Duo asked, ignoring Angel's explanation.

"Well, that is up to you. I was planning on asking you to join us, at least while you're here in LA. Then it wouldn't be a case." Angel explained.

"While I'm here I'll join you, but I go on my patrols alone, understood?" Duo snapped and Angel nodded agreeably.

"Sure, but you will help with our normal cases." It wasn't a request, but Duo merely nodded, content with the deal for now. "Should we tell them what you are?" Angel asked. Duo just shrugged.

Within twenty minutes, Tony and two women had arrived and entered the office. Tony was on older man wearing dark slacks and a sweater. He looked about forty-something with silver threads appearing in his black hair.

The first girl had long dark bluish black hair that reached her knees and intense dark blue eyes. She was a slim 5'6 and wore a tight white sleeveless turtleneck and skintight white hip hugging pants that flashed a good three inches of her toned stomach.

The other woman had long brown hair, pulled up on a ponytail with warm chocolate eyes. She was wearing a pair of brown leather pants and a black tight t-shirt with a brown leather jacket on top.

"Mara, Tony, Dawn, I'd like you to meet Duo Maxwell. Duo, Mara Smith, descendant of my original partner Wesley, Tony Gun descendent of Gun and Fred, also original partners, and Dawn, younger sister to an old friend of mine from a long time ago." Angel said, gesturing to each person as he introduced them.

"Please to meet you." Duo murmured as he nodded to them.

"Likewise." Tony said shortly as Mara stared at him, suspicion on her eyes.

"Duo, so god to see you again." Dawn said as she stepped forward and held out her arms. "Now get over here and give me a hug." She demanded, bringing a soft chuckle out of Duo, who obligingly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug.

"Hi, Aunt Dawn." He laughed as he set her back on her feet.

"How do you two know each other?" Mara asked in surprise, the suspicion leaving her eyes. Everyone knew that Dawn wouldn't let anyone close to her unless she knew them very well. To see he hug a complete stranger was shocking.

"Oh, I've know Duo here for a number of years, now. His Watcher introduced us back when he was first called." She said, then slapped a hand across her mouth.

"Dawn!" Angel said sharply, while Duo just sighed.

"Sorry, it's been a long time since I had to keep something like that a secret, besides, I trust them." She said defensivly.

"Yes, but I don't." Duo said quietly.

"Well, you should. They're nice people, sort of."

"What do you mean, sort of?!" Mara shouted as she lunged towards the brunet, only to find a knife to her throat.

"Back off, bitch." Duo growled he eyes lashing at her in rage. No one touched one of his friends. No one.

"What did you call me?" she growled, anger swiftly overtaking her shock as she went to knock the hand away, only to have it sliced open and the bloody knife placed back at her neck before she even knew that she had been injured.

"Duo." Dawn snapped. "Back off. This is normal for us."

"I don't tolerate people I don't know and trust 'attacking' my family." Duo snapped back, not taking his eyes off Mara, though he did pull the knife away.

"I know, but you do remember that I can take care of myself. I've been doing it since longer than you've been alive, much less called."

"So he is the slayer." Tony said grimly.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Duo snarled.

"Yeah. I don't like slayers."

"Tough shit, asshole."

"I don't see why." Angel said coolly. "After all, your grandmother was one. Dawn is the sister of one."

"It's none of your business." Tony snapped, glaring at his boss.

"I think it is, considering that he will be staying here and working with us." Angel said, glaring right back.

"He's going to be staying here?" Mara demanded as she finished wrapping her hand in a towel to stop the bleeding.

"Yes, and we will be helping him track down a master that he's been looking for."

"What, the great slayer can't even take care of his own business, we have to help him like a child?" Tony said, chuckling coldly up until a blade whizzed by his head and sank into the wall all the way to the hilt. Turning to look at the blade, he glared at it, then turned to the thrower, starting in surprise at see that it was Dawn, and not Duo, like he had thought.

"Tony, shut up. It's a tracking job, not that you have to take care of the master when we find them." She snapped, bristling at the older looking man.

"Knock it off, all of you." Angel said, his eyes flashing. "It is my decision whether or not to help him and I already said that we would help, either as a teammate or as a job."

"Well, this is one job I'm not doing." Tony snapped and Mara nodded.

"You know what, forget it." Duo said as he grabbed his coat and slipped it on. "I'll do this on my own."

"Duo, wait." Dawn said as she followed him towards the door. Just as they reached it, it slammed open, leeting in a bleach blond man in black jeans and t-shirt with a black leather duster on top.

"Peaches, I'm home!" he called out sarcastically, then did a double take at who was right in front of him. Faster than most could see, he reached out and grabbed Duo and yanked him close, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

"Hey, if it isn't Blades. I haven't seen you for a while! How ya been, pet?" he asked, squeezing before releasing the slayer.

"Spike, it's good to see you too, but I'm leaving." Duo said coldly.

"What's he talking about, Nibblet?" Spike asked Dawn darkly.

"Tony and Mara refuse to help him track down a master he's hunting." She said.

"What?" he asked dangerously.

"They don't like him, don't trust him, and won't help him." She said with a glare at the two behind her. Angel had followed them to the door, leaving the other two standing by themselves.

"I always knew you two were bloody idiots, but this is beyond even that." Spike said, he eyes flashing gold, though his didn't shift into game face. "This bloke has saved Peaches and me more times than I can remember, and you won't help him? You should have just dumped them when I told you to." He said, turning to Angel for the last statement.

"Yeah, it seems that way." Angel said grimly to the shock of the two demo hunters behind him.

"I didn't come to make trouble." Duo said flatly. "They've worked with you for years now. Don't get rid of them just because of me."

"That's very nice of you, but that is what we do. We help people." Angel said firmly and Dawn and Spike nodded.

"Yup, which means, we will help you. Now give me all the information you have on this bloody poofer." Spike said draping an arm around Duo's shoulders and leading him back into the lobby and towards a couch.

VVVVVVVV

Everyone had settled into an uneasy truce. Duo allowed Dawn and Spike to patrol with him, and Angel became a buffer between Tony and Mara and the rest of the group. Duo followed leads all across LA, slowly coming closer and closer to his quarry.

"So, this is the place?" Dawn asked, looking at the large mansion in front of them.

"Yup, this should be it." Duo said grimly, clutching his scythe as anger began to build. Finally after almost six months on searching, he had found him. The Master. The one who had his minions kill his Hilde.

"So, let's get this bloody wanker." Spike said, a devilish grin on his face as he lit a cigarette.

Nodding, they entered stealthily, scaling the high wall that surrounded the mansion, then creeping across the lawn, slowly and steadily so that no one would notice them. As they reached the house, they surrounded the front door, weapons at the ready. At a nod from spike, who couldn't hear or smell anyone nearby, Duo bent down and quickly picked the locks with the picks he kept in his braid.

Opening the door silently on well oiled hinges, he entered, gripping his scythe tightly, looking around at the empty entrance hall.

He signaled for Dawn to take the rooms to the left and for Spike to take the rooms on the right. Nodding, they split as they headed for where he had gestured and him for the stairs leading upwards to the second floor.

Creeping up the stairs, he kept an eye out for anything that was going to spring out at him. Nothing moved as he kept moving, though he could tell something was watching him.

Hearing a faint clank and catching a flicker out of the corner of his eye, he turned quickly, catching a glimpse of something blue disappearing in to the shadows of an open doorway to the right at the top of the stairs. 'That must be him.' He thought and ran up the stairs and over to the door. Stopping in the doorway, he looked around, taking in the bare walls, the mattress on the floor, the long chains that stretched from a bolt in the wall to shadowy corner.

Following the chain, he gaped as he saw the tall form of Trowa Barton leaning against the wall, the long chain attached to a heavy collar the encircled his neck.

"Trowa?!" he gasped as he hurriedly stepped forward.

"What are you doing here, Duo?" Trowa asked flatly.

"Never mind that, what the hell are you doing here chained like a fucking dog?!" Duo shouted as he approached the tall form who didn't move an inch.

VVVVVVVV

Hearing the shout from above, Dawn and Spike hurriedly exited the rooms they were searching and ran for the stairs. Spike bounded up them, leaving Dawn to bring u the rear as his vampire strength propelled him faster than her.

He reached the top and turned unerringly to the door the long haired man had entered though and rushed through, not caring about anything that could happen to himself. He stopped short and was thrown back through the door to collide with Dawn, who had just reached it, as a blue and brown blur sent him flying.

"Vampire!" Trowa hissed in anger as the collar brought him up short from following him out the door.

"Trowa, what are you doing?!" Duo shouted as he lunged after them and grabbed Trowa around the waist. He wrestled him to the floor and pinned him there as the other teen thrashed harshly, trying to get away.

"That's a vampire, Duo! It needs to be destroyed!"

"That's Spike, he has a soul!" Duo shouted back, shocking the taller teen into laing still underneath him.

Tentatively releasing him, Duo stood up backing up a step to give Trowa room to move up off the floor.

"What do you know about vampires?" Trowa asked darkly.

"A lot. I am the slayer, it's kinda my job." Duo said shortly, causing the uniban to snapp towards him in shock.

"The slayer?" Trowa asked as he began to back up quickly.

"Trowa, what's the matter with you?" Duo asked in worry as the normally blank face filled with terror.

"Stay away from me."

"Trowa?" Duo asked confused.

"He's a werewolf, Blades." Spike said as he helped Dawn to her feet, rubbing a hand against his jaw where he had been punched.

"WHAT?!"

A/N

Well, here it is, the rest of chapter one. It's only a couple years late. --' Sorry, a lots been happening and as you probably know, I gave up writing for a long time. Now I'm back, and I'm working on a new story called Love, life and betrayal. It's a Naruto story. Anyway, I was looking through my list of stories and decided that I wanted to take this up again. It probably won't be updated nearly as much as my new one because I lost the notebook this was written in and I have to basically rewrite it all because I'm realizing that I don't remember to much about where this was going. Some I do, but not a lot. But here it is! I hope you enjoyed it.

Shinigami-chan


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